Seriously Citrusy

Meyer lemon curd and lime curd

There's an abundance of assorted citrus fruits at Costco and I couldn't resist their bright sunny spring colors. I haven't stopped buying Cara Cara oranges, got a large bag each of limes and Meyer lemons, and one humongous bag of Jaffa Sweeties, a cross of pomelo and white grapefruit. They are soooo deliciously sweet I want to eat them all day long everyday, the whole year round if possible. These citrus fruits are developed in Israel and just like Cara Cara this is the first time I heard of them. To my dismay when I went back to get another bag they were all gone after only a week in the store.

Jaffa Sweetie, Cara Cara Orange, Calamansi

Jaffa Sweeties, I love you so

Meyer lemons

I have so much limes and lemons there isn't space in the refrigerator to store them. I froze some of the juice in a Wilton silicone baking mold with 1-inch squares for tiny cakes or brownies. Each square holds exactly 1 tablespoon of liquid, perfect for freezing citrus juices for later use. I made some into lime curd and lemon curd, both are utterly yummy, sweet and slightly tart. Next week, I will be busy baking lemon, lime, or calamansi pound cakes.

Lime or Lemon Curd
½ cup butter, diced
1 cup sugar
½ cup lime juice (or Meyer lemon juice)
grated zest of two limes (or Meyer lemons)
4 extra large eggs or 5 large eggs, lightly beaten

• Put butter, sugar, juice, and zest into a glass bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water. Let butter melt, then gradually whisk in the beaten eggs. Cook, stirring constantly, until thickened to the consistency of instant pudding, about 15 minutes.
• Remove from heat, wipe bottom of bowl, and cool for a few minutes. Transfer the curd into a clean jar, cool completely, cover jar, and store in the refrigerator.
• Spread on buttery biscuits, crumpets, English muffins, crisp Belgian wafers, fruits...

great on chewy crunchy toasted English muffins

Soymilk

warm freshly made soymilk: so good

We have been buying soymilk since forever and only recently noticed that most brands have additives such as sugar to mask the "beany" flavor and xanthan gum or carageenan for a creamier texture. Making soymilk was never in my must-make list until I saw and clicked on an ad for soymilk maker. I didn't know these makers are available for soymilk enthusiasts. Searching online for making soy milk without a machine, I found a lot of websites including Martha Stewart teaching how to make soymilk at home.

I happen to have a 32-ounce bag of soy beans sitting in the pantry, I can't remember why I bought it. Maybe it was waiting to be made into milk. After one sip of the still warm delicious plain no-sugar milk, I am convinced homemade soymilk tastes superior to the ones in cartons. The milk has the slight beany taste of silken tofu which is why I love it. I noticed that unlike the store-bought there are no grits at the bottom of my cup and in the jar. The thickness can also be adjusted to individual preference.

Here's a a how-to video

For a little more than a liter of soymilk you will need:
1 cup dried soy beans
water
blender
a large piece of washed and dried muslin or fine cheesecloth
tall stock pot
sieve
2 large bowls
heat-proof spatula
pinch of salt and 1 tablespoon raw sugar, if desired

• Rinse soybeans, drain, and add water to cover 2 inches over the beans. Soak beans overnight at room temperature. The next day, drain the water, rinse twice, and drain very well. Hull the beans, if preferred. Place half of the beans with double the amount of water in the blender and blend on high for 2 minutes. Transfer into a large bowl. Remove all the foam on top with a small sieve. Repeat with the rest of the beans.
• Place a sieve on top of another bowl, line with the muslin. Pour the liquid through the muslin and let drip into the bowl. Gather the corners of the muslin and twist the top. Press to extract as much liquid as possible.
• Boil 1 cup of water in the stockpot, add the extracted liquid, add salt and sugar if using, and over high heat let the mixture come to a boil, constantly stirring and scraping the bottom. Turn down the heat to medium and simmer the milk for 25 minutes. Stir down the foam as it rises until it dies down. Transfer into a clean jar, cover, and refrigerate.

dry soy beans, soaked and hulled beans, simmering soymilk, okara, toasted okara

In making soymilk at home I also learned about okara, the pulp left in the cheesecloth after straining the liquid, which I will use for baking breads; and accidentally soybean skin (yuba). I removed the skin that formed on top of the cooking milk, ate it when it had dried a little, and it tasted exactly like the vegetarian dish we always have at our favorite Chinese restaurant. By boiling the milk and collecting the skin until all the milk is used up, I might be able to recreate my favorite Chinese dish at home. That will be my next project.:-)

Mangga, Suman, At Tsokolate

a yummy Filipino breakfast: suman with chocolate, ripe mango, and frothy hot chocolate

There's nothing gloomier than waking up to a sunless rainy Sunday morning. Remembering the store-bought Suman Con Tsokolate in the refrigerator and seeing the bright yellow ripe mangoes on the kitchen counter thankfully brightened up the day. And having frothy hot chocolate with this delicious pair perked me up and made me more cheerful.^__^

Lasang Pinoy Sundays: BREAD-y Or Not

I love breads specially sweet ensaimada, brioche, and challah, all very yummy, crusty rustic bread simply dipped in olive oil, and of course my favorite of all, hot pan de sal with lots of butter or filled with cheese pimiento and pancit guisado. I know I shouldn't be eating too much bread because the calories go straight to my arms and hips but I could care less, I can't live without bread.:-)

Sweet Potato Challah Bread Pudding3 cups milk
2 tablespoons melted butter
6 tablespoons sugar or to taste
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 cups cubed sweet potato challah, recipe here (or plain challah, pan de sal, brioche, French bread)
1 cup coarsely chopped candied ginger, golden raisins, or dried fruit of your choice
powdered sugar for dusting

• Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
• In a medium bowl, beat eggs with sugar until light yellow in color. Add milk, butter, and vanilla extract, mix well.
• Place half of the bread cubes into a baking dish or individual ramekins. Sprinkle with half of the candied ginger, repeat with the remaining bread cubes and candied ginger. Pour the milk mixture all over, press down so that the custard covers the bread completely. Place the baking dish or ramekins in a large pan. Carefully fill the large pan with hot tap water halfway up the sides of the baking dish.
• Bake ramekins for 45 minutes, baking dish for 1 hour or until tops is golden brown. Gently press down the middle to check if the custard is fully cooked. Remove from oven, cool slightly before dusting with powdered sugar. The pudding is also good cold.

Lasang Pinoy Sundays hosted by SpiCes is a weekly photography meme. Click on the yellow button to view more BREAD-y Or Not entries.